Bitcoin credit
Why would we want to buy things with Bitcoin instead of using national currencies? Well, many people are paid directly in Bitcoin for their work. Transaction fees are lower than traditional payment methods and in most countries bitcoin can be used to circumvent taxes. Bitcoin miners are also paid in Bitcoin and investors often need to dig a bit into their Bitcoin holdings for everyday spending.
While converting Bitcoin to fiat whenever you need to use it is an option, it can be tiresome to exchange Bitcoin every few days. Furthermore, it usually takes a few days to withdraw from an exchange to your bank account. You could get around this by withdrawing a larger sum at the beginning or end of the month, but it may mean that you have to sell more than what you need in a middle of a bull run which is extremely frustrating.
With this in mind, we want to introduce you to the Shift Card, a debit card by Coinbase that allows you to pay for everything with Bitcoin. The merchant does not need to accept Bitcoin in order for it to work (he will most likely have no idea what Bitcoin is), he just needs to accept debit/credit cards, which is usually the case with every store. The card can also be used for online purchases and it comes in both physical and digital formats.
*“Just have to share my excitement today using bitcoin at every store I chose. Bought lumber at Lowes, oil at Jiffy Lube and lettuce wraps at Fire Bowl Cafe using the Coinbase Shift Visa card…. none of these merchants accept bitcoin nor cared when I shared my enthusiasm with the clerk that I was using bitcoin.” * — Reddit user
So, how does it work? The Shift Bitcoin Debit card is linked directly to the Coinbase wallet system, providing an easy way for Coinbase users to get goods with their bitcoins. Once the Shift card is connected to your Coinbase wallet, the value of your purchases will be deducted from the BTC balance and converted directly into USD at the current exchange rate.
